Paper Moon (1973)

• Year: 1973
• Released: 09 May 1973
• Country: United States
• Adwords: Won 1 Oscar. 8 wins & 10 nominations total
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070510/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/paper_moon
• Metacritics: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/paper-moon
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English
• MPA Rating: PG
• Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
• Runtime: 102 min
• Writer: Joe David Brown, Alvin Sargent
• Director: Peter Bogdanovich
• Cast: Ryan O’Neal, Tatum O’Neal, Madeline Kahn
• Keywords: friendship, road trip, funeral, bible, con man,

	8.1/10
	77/100
	93% – Critics
	94% – Audience

Paper Moon Storyline

Set in the midwest of the depression-era, Paper Moon follows Moses Pray and Addie Loggins – one a con artist, the other, the young girl who’s the daughter of a woman who’s just passed away. The pair meet when ‘Mose’ stops by the sparsely-attended funeral in Kansas of a woman he once knew (we never see her). In attendance, is the woman’s young daughter, Addie, whom Moses agrees to transport to St Joseph, Mo — for money, of course. Mose – an inveterate hustler, has been working ostensibly as a representative of the Kansas Bible Company – who picks his marks from the obits, and tries to sell – at exorbitant prices – the decedents’ spouse the custom bible they’d previously ordered. Wise beyond her years, Addie picks up on Moses’ grift, and very quickly, she and Mose become a team. Traveling from town to town, making money in every dishonest way imaginable, and looking for the ultimate score. The colorful characters they meet along the way make the film all the more interesting. One in particular – Miss Trixie Delight – an exotic dancer who Mose rescues from a traveling carnival and the girl who works for her, poor, suffering Imogene. Addie sees Miss Delight as a potential rival, and she concocts a plan with Imogene to free themselves of her. The film’s peppered with regional dialogue, one of the most memorable line’s uttered when Mose is forced to wrestle a backwoodsman in order to trade his new car for the hillbilly’s battered old truck; “make him say calf-rope, Leroy!” one of the observers calls out. Paper Moon, directed by Peter Bogdonovich is adapted from the novel, “Addie Pray” (1971) by Joe David Brown.

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Paper Moon Movie Reviews

Enchanting Depression-era comedy…

True, TATUM O’NEIL won an Oscar for her role as Addie Pray in PAPER MOON and fully deserved it. Her dad, RYAN O’NEIL must have been proud of her but his only reward was a Golden Globe nomination.

The con artist and little girl theme had been used before in Damon Runyon’s famous comedy “Little Miss Marker” with Shirley Temple and Adolphe Menjou. But here the twist is that the girl is just as much a con artist as the man–and that’s the key that makes the film so much more palatable for 1970s audiences without getting too sentimental about it.

There’s a real Depression-era feeling to the whole story, with some richly detailed panoramas of rural America and its citizens at that time in history. Peter Bogdanovich has done a commendable job in making sure that his authentic backgrounds illuminate an enchanting tale about two drifters who share an unusual partnership when it becomes clear to the man that the girl would be a valuable aid in his con work.

There’s a bright supporting role by MADELINE KAHN as Trixie Delight, a stripper who tosses off some good one-liners, but it’s the chemistry between Tatum and Ryan that turns this into the most satisfying “buddy” movie of the ’70s.

Summing up: A treat not to be missed.

One of Peter Bogdanovich’s best movies

Paper Moon is one of my three favourite Peter Bogdanovich movies alongside What’s Up Doc and The Last Picture Show. It is a wonderful little movie that succeeds on all levels. The cinematography alone makes the film a treat to look at, it is beautiful, while the score is a marvel. Bogdanovich’s direction is superb, the story is a real charmer and the script is great and very quotable.

Paper Moon also boasts a terrific cast. Ryan O’Neal does give one of his better performances here, while Tatum O’Neal is simply brilliant in her debut. It is always a pleasure to see Madeline Kahn and she gives one of my favourite performances of hers, this role demonstrates her talents impeccably. So overall, Paper Moon is a wonderful movie. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Tatum at 10

Paper Moon shows us a simpler time, those Depression Era Thirties. In those days everyone was scratching for a dollar some less honestly than others like Ryan O’Neal. He plays a conman whose current scam is being a Bible salesman. Now could there be anything dishonest about a salesman of the Good Book? I won’t describe his con, but it’s a good one and in Middle America, Kansas of the Thirties, there’s lots of suckers ready to be trimmed in this kind of scheme.

But O’Neal gets a call on route that a woman he was intimately acquainted with has died. The 10 year old child she left behind could very well be O’Neal’s.

Ryan only agrees to deliver the girl to an aunt in St. Joseph, Missouri, but real life daughter Tatum kind of grows on him. And she certainly has his conning ways which would convince anyone she really is his daughter. She aids and abets him and comes up with some schemes of her own. Especially one involving Madeline Kahn who is a woman of some easy virtue who Ryan takes up with and Tatum can no way see as a mother figure.

Paper Moon with its great musical score of 30s standards is my kind of film for that alone. But with real life father and daughter playing father and daughter on screen there’s a special dimension for those really sublime and quality scenes. It’s what earned Paper Moon it’s Oscar for Tatum O’Neal as Best Supporting Actress. Doubly impressive since Madeline Kahn was also nominated. Paper Moon was also nominated for Best Sound and for Adapted Screenplay.

In the cast you will really be surprised at John Hillerman’s portrayal of a mean and corrupt redneck sheriff. It is such a far cry from being Higgins on Magnum, PI, Hillerman carries it off so well.

I doubt in this day and age that Tatum and Ryan could have had the happy ending they did, but that’s probably for the better. Still Paper Moon is nice nostalgic film about some less than honorable people.